Lake Charles Man Arrested For Placing Threat On Local High School
For the second time this month, Lake Charles law enforcement has had to lockdown Washington-Marion High School due to unnecessary outside threats. As students and faculty try to recover from a previous threat earlier this month, it happened again this week. The authorities said on Wednesday, September 28, the school was placed on a soft lockdown. This means no one is allowed off or on campus, but school operations and instruction can proceed as normal.
Kayla Vincent of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office (CPSO) reports that a man called 911 dispatch Wednesday afternoon and stated that the school needed to be evacuated in two hours. Saying nothing else he then hung up. Vincent stated that the school administration was alerted and law enforcement implemented a soft lockdown out of caution.
Thankfully, the threat was quickly debunked as not being credible. However, it was still an unnerving and stressful situation for the students and faculty at Washington-Marion High School. Some students spoke out about the recent events and expressed how they were feeling with KPLC shortly after the soft lockdown was lifted. The kids stated that everyone is confused as to why this has happened back to back. They said the last two incidents of having their school locked down have been very frustrating and think the threats are not only unnecessary but petty.
Calcasieu Parish officials have identified the 911 caller as 24-year-old William J. Spain II of Lake Charles. Spain admitted to making the bizarre call and was arrested and charged with false swearing for purpose of violating public safety. If convicted, Spain could face a sentence of 1 to 5 years in jail or be fined up $1,000 or both.